Dennis Green to Host Fishing Show

Published 8:00 pm, Tuesday, January 8, 2002

Dennis Green won't be coaching in the NFL next season. He'll be gone fishin'.

Less than a week after he was forced out as head coach and general manager of the Minnesota Vikings, Green revealed his plan Wednesday to appear on a weekly TV program about fishing.

Green, who agreed last Friday with owner Red McCombs on a buyout of his contract, would be an attractive candidate for a team with an opening despite Minnesota's rocky 5-11 season. He went 97-62 in 10 seasons _ eight of which ended in the playoffs.

Green said his new venture "absolutely" ruled out a chance of him coaching in 2002, but said he "probably" would continue his coaching career in the future. He also sounded confident he'll be doing some studio analysis for NFL games next fall, declining to identify the network.

But the 52-year-old Green was more interested in talking about his fishing gig.

"I have a great passion for football," he said. "But you don't just take a job because it's there. It's clear that the right situation is not there for me right now. I'm focused on fishing."

Irwin Jacobs _ a former minority owner of the Vikings and chairman of a national marketer of competitive fishing tournaments _ asked Green to appear on "FLW Outdoors," a fishing show to be broadcast on the Pax Network. Green's program will be shown live on Saturday afternoons from a studio in Little Rock, Ark.

Green will provide tips for children and offer studio analysis as well as interview fishing experts.

"He's perfect for it," Jacobs said.

Recalling how his father taught him to fish at an early age, Green couldn't stop smiling about the opportunity to work extensively with one of his favorite hobbies.

Green won't criticize the Vikings.

"That's in the past," Green said. "I think there's nothing more to be said. I watched the game on Monday night. I rooted for them.

"You can't have everything go your way all the time. We didn't have a great season. But neither did Mike Holmgren, Jeff Fisher and Mike Shanahan. It was that kind of year."